


Like Rats

by dearestones (Devin_Trinidad)



Category: Akudama Drive (Anime)
Genre: As requested on Tumblr, Gen, Tumblr request, but one is significantly better and somewhat worse than the other, canon compliant sort of, hoodlum and swindler talk, serious hoodlum, takes place in episode 5ish, they're both liars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29900535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devin_Trinidad/pseuds/dearestones
Summary: “You’re not as good a liar as you think you are,” Hoodlum muttered quietly.At that, Swindler’s head swung towards his with startling speed. Her eyes were blown wide, her hands already up in the air to placate and defend her position on the matter. At any other time, Hoodlum would have laughed at her antics. After all, such loud gestures and mannerisms reminded him of himself and of Brawler. If it weren’t for the strange feeling emanating from Swindler, he would have let whatever was bothering him go, but he needed to know.
Relationships: Hoodlum & Ordinary | Swindler (Akudama Drive)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Like Rats

**Author's Note:**

> Anonymous Request: Welcome back! Good to hear you're doing better! :D 
> 
> Perhaps some Swindler and Hoodlum interactions? Both have interesting similarities.

Hoodlum sat, one leg crossed over the other as he settled in next to Swindler. The night was fairly quiet and still, a far cry from the usual hustle and bustle of the Kansai nightlife. As the both of them breathed in the night air of the desolate wasteland outside of their city of origin, Hoodlum decided to broach a topic that had been bothering him for a while now. 

He cocked his head to the side and regarded his companion silently. He had thought that among the others, Swindler would have decided to stay the night inside of the dilapidated building. After seeing the interaction between her and the two children they had rescued in their heist, it would have been far more characteristic of her to stay behind to make sure that they were safe. As it were, however, Swindler had ventured out only moments after he had. 

“You’re not as good a liar as you think you are,” Hoodlum muttered quietly. 

At that, Swindler’s head swung towards his with startling speed. Her eyes were blown wide, her hands already up in the air to placate and defend her position on the matter. At any other time, Hoodlum would have laughed at her antics. After all, such loud gestures and mannerisms reminded him of himself and of Brawler. If it weren’t for the strange feeling emanating from Swindler, he would have let whatever was bothering him go, but he needed to know. 

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hoodlum! Lying? Me? Since when—“

Hoodlum held up a hand, his eyes peering sternly over the rim of his sunglasses with a seriousness that was at odds with his foolish nature. 

“It takes one to know one. Isn’t that the phrase?” He continued to push forward with his observation without waiting for her reply. “Well, I’m not exactly the best liar and you aren’t the shining example of one either.” 

Hoodlum looked away from Swindler to stare ahead into the abyss of the wasteland. Ahead of them, he could see the faint outline of the bathtub that Cutthroat had entertained himself with only hours before. True to his nature, once Cutthroat had eaten his fill of marshmallows, the deranged serial killer had seen fit to sleep in it as well. 

No one had decided to stop him and Hoodlum had thought it to be the best course of action for now.

Who knows what the serial killer would have done in such close quarters with the rest of them inside of the building?

Swindler looked away and if Hoodlum cared to look, he would have seen that her face was blooming a fetching shade of red. However, her eyes were narrowed in indignation and her gloved hands twitched and fidgeted every so often.

Nervousness.

Anxiety.

“That day,” Hoodlum muttered lowly to her, “both of us weren’t supposed to be part of the heist. I know why I was there; I got apprehended for stealing and broke out ‘cause of the chaos.” Hoodlum steepled his fingers together and looked askance at her. “You? I’ve never seen you before and you just happened to be there as well. Everyone else looked perfectly at home breaking out Cutthroat, but you were busy screaming for help and looking the part of the damsel in distress.”

Swindler narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed at his description of her during their first meeting. Yet, she said nothing, but waved her hand as if to tell him to continue. 

“Let me guess, you were caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, right?”

Slowly, Swindler nodded. 

In return, Hoodlum carefully studied her. 

Her eyes were bright, but downcast, almost as if she felt the events that had occurred made her guilty of something. Her breathing was low and unhurried while her hands remained still on her lap. 

For now she was calm and when she was calm—

She was telling the truth. 

“You’re not an Akudama right now…. or at the very least, you’re not a high ranking Akudama.” It wasn’t a question. It was an observation that was only confirmed by Swindler’s eyes widening in recognition and the way her fingers bunched up the hem of her skirt. 

“So why?” Hoodlum ventured to ask. “You could have left all of this behind very early on in the operation.” The blond man ran a hand through his hair, a resigned look on his face. “I saw that female Executioner’s look back at the hotel. Once your name is in the records, it’s never getting erased. At that point, you could have said something to defend yourself, but instead… you let me do the talking.”

“I… I know.”

Silence hung in the air between them, like muggy, acrid smoke. 

“You’re throwing your entire life away, ya know?”

Swindler’s eyes became focused and determined, pure, truth radiating in her eyes. 

“And you haven’t done the same?”

He chuckled. “I didn’t have a life before becoming who I am. You? No one can hack into the Seal Center without getting killed or caught. I bet before Hacker left, he figured out that you weren’t what you said you were. So why?”

She surprised him with her own question. “Why do you keep lying, Hoodlum?” She crossed her arms over her chest and met his stern, curious gaze with one of her own. “Everyone knows that you’re full of lies, no offense, but you keep doing it. Answer me and maybe I’ll tell you.”

He didn’t hesitate. “Survival.” At Swindler’s wide-eyed look, he elaborated. “You know how you sometimes see rats in the sewers? That’s me whenever I end up walking the darker streets of Kansai. I do what I do because if I don’t…” Hoodlum made a slitting motion against his neck, the intent more than clear. 

Swindler nodded, her mind lost in thought as she remembered the events that only occurred less than a day before. 

“I… All of them were going to kill me at one point and well…”

Hoodlum couldn’t help but smile a little as he looked at his companion appraisingly. “You swindled them.”

“But not you.”

He shrugged. “I’m not going to tell the others if you’re worried. At this point, you don’t have to lie anymore.”

Swindler focused on him, concern weighing heavy and foreboding on her features. “But you have to.”

Sorrow pulled at his heart, but he pasted a bright smile just for her: a lie worth telling.

“Hey, as a hoodlum, that’s kinda my job! Anyway,” he nodded at her in encouragement, “let’s head back inside. I bet the kids will have our hides if we don’t get up nice and early in the morning for the trip back **.”**

  
  



End file.
